The present invention is generally related to a self-mailer producing apparatus and, more specifically, to a method and apparatus for controlling the traveling direction of a piece of folded material exiting a folding machine.
A self-mailer is conventionally defined as a mailpiece without an envelope. The self-mailer usually contains one or more sheets of printed material, folded once or twice by a folding machine into a smaller piece for mailing. Typically the folded material has a folded end and an open end. The open end is sealed with one or more tabs before the self-mailer is sent to the addressee. In addition, it may be required that an address label and a postage stamp or indicia be applied to or printed on the folded material. Thus, the components of a self-mailer producing system can generally be grouped into a printer, a folding machine, a labeler and a tabbing device.
Folding machines are well-known. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,701,233 (Beck et al.) discloses a method of folding a sheet by bulging a portion of the sheet and then folding the bulged portion through a roller nip. U.S. Pat. No. 4,875,965 (Marzullo) discloses a folding apparatus where a buckle chute is used for stopping a sheet, causing the sheet to enter a roller nip for folding. U.S. Pat. No. 4,944,131 (Gough) also discloses a folding apparatus having a buckle chute. With the above-identified folding machines, when the folded material exits the folding machine, it travels in the direction of the fold. This means that the folded end is leading the open end. Folding machines are generally designed for folding enclosure material to be inserted into envelopes in an envelope inserting device. In this particular application, the traveling direction of the folded material is not very important. But for tabbing purposes, it is desirable that the folded material travels with the open end leading the folded end. Thus, while the traveling direction of the folded material exiting a folding machine is suitable for envelope insertion, it is not suitable for tabbing.
Tabbing devices are also well-known. U.S. Pat. No. 5,711,846 (Alicea) discloses a tabbing device having precut tabs arranged in a roll on a narrow strip of removable backing material, wherein each tab is partially peeled away from the backing material, thereby exposing the adhesive side of the tab to the folded material to be sealed.
In a typical tabbing device, the tab faces an incoming piece of folded material so that the tab can be applied to the leading edge of the folded material. Furthermore, the tab must be applied to the open end of the folded material. Thus, when a piece of folded material is fed to a tabbing device, the leading edge of the folded material must be the open end, and not the folded end. In that case, the folded material exiting a folding machine must be rotated by hand so that the open end leads the folded end, before the folded material is fed to the tabbing apparatus for tabbing. This manual step can be time-consuming and increases the cost of producing self-mailers.
It is advantageous and desirable to provide a method and an apparatus for tabbing and folding sheets without manually rotating the folded material.
Furthermore, before or after the folded material is sealed, it can be moved through a printer for printing a postage indicia and/or an address thereon. Alternatively, a labeler can be used to apply an address label on the folded material. Labelers are well-known. An exemplary labeler is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,294,644 (Anderson). The disclosed labeler uses a servo motor to drive the label feed, wherein the label feed contains precut labels arranged in a roll on a backing material.
The system for producing self-mailers, according to the present invention, comprises: a folding apparatus for folding sheets into folded pieces and each folded piece has an open end and an opposing end, wherein the folding apparatus has an exit end; a tabbing apparatus, having an input end, for sealing the folded piece at the open end thereof in order to produce a self-mailer, and a path directing apparatus located between the exit end of the folding apparatus and the input end of the tabbing apparatus for directing the path of the folded material so as to cause the folded piece to enter the input end of the tabbing apparatus with the open end leading the opposing end.
Furthermore, the self-mailer producing system may include a printer to print a postage indicia and a labeling device to apply an address label on the folded piece. The printer and the labeling device can be located upstream or downstream from the tabbing apparatus to form a continuous path for the folded material. As such, the folding, sealing, printing and addressing steps necessary to produce a self-mailer can be carried out in a continuous flow without interruption.
Accordingly, in a system for producing self-mailers wherein the system has a folding apparatus for folding sheets into folded pieces with each folded piece having an open end and an opposing end, and a tabbing apparatus for applying a tab on the open end in order to seal each folded piece, the method for providing a continuous path between the folding apparatus and the tabbing apparatus comprises the step of directing the path of the folded piece so as to cause the folded piece to enter the tabbing apparatus with the open end leading the folded end. Typically the end opposing to the open end of a folded material is a folded end.